DOJ/DOE Joint Publication: Frequently Asked Questions on Effective Communication for Students with Hearing, Vision, or Speech Disabilities in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools

16. Is the IDEA evaluation process different than the analysis used when considering an individual’s request for a particular auxiliary aid or service under Title II?

Answer. Under the IDEA, each school district must conduct a full and individual initial evaluation before the initial provision of special education and related services to a child with a disability. The evaluation must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child, including information provided by the parent that may assist in determining whether the child is a child with a disability and needs special education and related services. Evaluations also must be provided and administered in a student’s native language or other mode of communication.⁴⁷

If a school district has already completed a child’s evaluation under the IDEA, it may rely on information obtained from that evaluation when determining the need for effective communication under Title II. However, the school district must analyze the child’s needs and how to meet those needs based on the Title II standard, and this includes giving primary consideration to a request for a specific auxiliary aid or service. A school district may not ignore information obtained through the IDEA evaluation procedures, but may implement its own procedures to determine whether a child needs a particular auxiliary aid or service to ensure effective communication under Title II. Similarly, as explained above in Q&A 5, a school district must provide the auxiliary aids or services in a timely manner and cannot wait for the IEP process to run its course before providing necessary auxiliary aids and services under Title II. The IDEA does not prohibit a school district from providing the needed auxiliary aids and services under Title II while the IDEA evaluation is pending.

In this situation, the school district must first address the child’s needs for auxiliary aids and services based on the Title II standard while proceeding with the IDEA evaluation process, meaning the school district must provide those aids and services that ensure communication with the child is as effective as communication with students without disabilities and give primary consideration to the parent’s or child’s request for specific auxiliary aids and services, if any. Once the IDEA evaluation is complete, the school district may need to reassess whether the child needs different auxiliary aids or services to ensure effective communication under Title II if the results of the IDEA evaluation provide additional information regarding the child’s needs or the effectiveness of the auxiliary aids and services being used.